Baked Pears in Puff Pastry

I shared photos of this baked pear in puff pastry dessert a few weeks ago on Facebook but so much has been going on in my life I haven’t had a chance to share the recipe with you. My apologies. I received an email yesterday asking me if I had really made those myself. They aren’t perfect so it’s obvious I made them. This was my first try but I will definitely be making these again. They are beautiful on a plate.

I found this recipe while strolling the net and found a site with Bulgarian recipes. I’ve shared before that Bulgaria is a favorite country. John and I have visited several times and we have wonderful friends who live there. When I saw the site I thought, “I can make a traditional Bulgarian recipe and show Hristo and Emilya how clever I am.”

Then I saw these pears. Well, not these pears. The recipe I found was for an appetizer and they were filled with cheese but I liked the idea so much and was sure it would work just as well for a dessert — and it did.

I’ll let you in on a secret because it made me laugh. John was asleep, leaving just Rob and me downstairs when I finished these pears. I took them out of the oven, cooled them slightly, filled them with vanilla bean custard and went off to photograph them.

If you look at the pears before baking, you’ll see that they’re well, pear shaped. When you turn them over, the skinny bit at the top leans over – bad photo. I went to the pantry, got some big marshmallows, cut just a bit off to get it sticky and put it under the thin end. Problem solved.

Then I brought a pear out for Rob and he ate with gusto while I finished the rest of the photos. This man can EAT.

“How did you like it? Should I try one?”

“Oh yes, you’ll like it, but the marshmallow seemed odd to add in there,” he said.

“That was a prop, you weren’t supposed to eat that!”

“It wasn’t bad but it would have been better in hot chocolate. Got any?”

He’s too cute.

If you buy puff pastry, these are dead easy to make. You could buy both the puff pastry and the custard from the food store and then the most difficult thing is peeling the pears.

Peel the pears, scoop out the bit where the seeds are (I used a melon baller), paint them with lemon juice on both sides, turn them over on a silpat or baking paper and fit the puff pastry and cut around it. Then do your best to make a leaf. Then poke the puff pastry with a paring knife and pop in the oven.

When they’re cool enough to handle lift them off with a spatula, fill with custard and serve. It is an elegant dessert and looks like it was difficult to make. Don’t tell!

Peel the pears, cut them in halves (leaving the stem) and remove the seeds. Use a teaspoon or melon baller to make a little pocket for the custard.

Brush the pears with lemon juice on both sides to prevent discoloration.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper or silpat and arrange the pear halves flat side down.

From the (thawed) puff pastry cut 4 rectangles, just a bit larger than the pears. Cover every pear with a piece of pastry and using a sharp knife cut the excess, leaving a well covered fruit. This sounds more difficult than it is. Think of it as putting a sweater on the pear.

Then cut a leaf from the remaining pastry - this is only for decoration and anything resembling a leaf is good. Glue them to the neck of the pear with milk.

Pierce here and there with a sharp knife and brush with milk.

Bake in preheated oven (200°C/400°F) for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Leave on the baking sheet to cool for a few minutes before flipping over.

When the pears are slightly cooled, remove from the baking pan (you may need to use tongs) and arrange on serving dishes.

Fill the cavity with the pudding/custard and sprinkle with coconut, cocoa nibs, sprinkles or icing sugar and serve with whipped cream.

I hope the shortcrust works, as a friend of mine who took a pastry course told me that it is almost impossible to make GF puff pastry. Also, would you mind if I made the peach version and put it on my blog? With a link back here of course.

Great use for marshmallows! I always use Fun-Tack for propping up stuff, but like the idea of marshmallows better – I can eat those! Nice recipe, and really like the top photo. Good stuff! thanks so much.

Don’t mention his weight. He’s a tiny thing but yes, he has. The family keeps asking if he’s putting on weight. How do you tell someone that they don’t need to eat everything? He LOVES his food. “Rob, would you like a cup of tea?” said earlier by me. Rob: “Got any bikkies?”

You should! On our last visit we went to a fort north of Sofia and I saw my first shepherd with a hooked stick, and a donkey cart like in Pinocchio and the fort was built in the year 600. Just amazing. I also got a plate of food called a “slap in the face.” It was a plate of seasoned beef that filled the plate and vegetables for hair, eyes, nose and mouth. I cracked up. (it was ordered for me as a joke)

Gorgeous idea, and fabulously executed! I wonder if you could lightly poach the pears in spiced red wine before wrapping them in pastry and baking them to get that amazing colour that red wine poached pears get?! I might have to try!

Actually, I love making puff pastry but then can never think of new stuff to use it for. My husband loves pears, loves them and would just go nuts for this. Topped with good vanilla ice cream, these would make such an elegant dessert! And I also agree that marshmallows are probably better in hot chocolate 🙂

I just discovered the post … I have NO idea what happened to the notification, again and am so impressed about the realism of your puff pastry pear shaping and the leaf. I can just see the chunk of marshmallow in the top picture.

Now that I think of it, a puddle of chocolate sauce would be the cherry on the top of the ice cream sundae in my book. For a minute I wondered if the white shards on top of the custard were parmesan cheese but I guess it’s coconut. Not that a sharp cheese would be a bad pearing (I mean pairing) with pears.

I saw these on facebook too such an awesome recipe!!!!!! I’m definitely goinig to make them soon my boyfriend loves poached pears but cuz I’m so stupid I can’t make them so I’ll make baked pears instead YAY! Thanks for the great recipe 🙂

I saw this photo on facebook last week and am so happy you posted this recipe. Gorgeous! I love dead easy recipes, especially when you are hosting. See your food is so good that your husband is trying to eat the props! I have pinned your recipe. I think lots of people will want to try this fun and simple dessert, maybe with or without the marshmallows. Take Care, BAM

Maureen, your prop story was hilarious. Thank goodness it was an edible prop! The food industry is rife with food styling tips and tricks (the unsuspecting public would be dismayed if they knew) but I thought it was great that you shared yours. Such a lovely dessert… crunchy, creamy, fruity… (and, at the risk of repeating everyone else, elegant!) Bonus points for easy. 😉

I love dead easy recipes that looks incredibly hard to make. well if you didn’t tell, i wouldn’t suspect that it was. It looks like a highly skilled pastry chef made them. I would serve this on a special occasion!
Malou

This looks so damn yummy ! I love pears but have never got a chance to have them cooked in any form yet. I am scared to try my hands on the same. Bookmarking this one with a hope it turns out as great as it seems here 🙂

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